1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to merging scalable nodes of a system into a single-partition merged system running a single instance of an operating system (OS), and more particularly to the control of such merging by using the service processors of the nodes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As computing needs for organizations have increased, one common way to obtain greater computing power is to merge a number of scalable multiple-processor and/or single-processor nodes of a system so that the nodes function as a single-partition merged system. This is known as hardware partitioning. Such a system typically runs a single instance of an operating system (OS). The resources of all the nodes are thus conceptually combined, so that in effect the user experiences a single, more powerful computing system functioning as one scaled up node, instead of a number of less powerful nodes.
A traditional approach to combining multiple nodes of a system into a single-partition merged system running a single instance of an OS is to manually configure each node. An administrator interacts directly with each node, configuring each node with the proper partition configuration information, and specifying one of the nodes as the primary, or boot node, and the other nodes as secondary nodes to the primary node. This approach is cumbersome, however, especially where there are more than a few nodes to manually configure, and is prone to user data entry error.
Another approach is to have dedicated hardware that is responsible for configuring the nodes as a single-partition merged system running a single instance of an OS. An administrator interacts with the dedicated hardware, which may be, for instance, a dedicated management console. The hardware is then responsible for ensuring that the nodes operate as a single-partition merged system. However, this approach requires the addition of potentially costly hardware, and may require modification to preexisting systems that do not allow for the addition of such functionality.
A third approach is to have a luck-of-the-draw or timing-based approach programmed into the nodes of the system. When a node boots up, it determines whether a single-partition merged system is already running, and if so, joins the system. If the node does not find a preexisting system to join, it starts one, and becomes the primary node for the new system. The node thus becomes the primary node due to timing issues and the luck of the draw. Such an approach, however, can be complex, and does not provide the administrator with control over which node becomes the primary node.
For these and other reasons, therefore, there is a need for the present invention.